Lothron Garland
Honour-Prince Lothron Garland, a Materialist Soulcaster and Commander of the Knights of Glass. He is the eldest and only surviving child of Darin and Maria Garland, farmers from the village of Riverns in the Northern Provinces of the Ilavene Imperium. Taken at the age of sixteen to become a Soulcaster. He was the first Halfsoul, being able to wield both Materialist Soulcasting and Binding Soulcasting. He became an Honour-Prince of the Ilavene Imperium after he defeated the God Oraxen and saved the capital of Morgond from his wrath. He became known as "The Prince with the Goldeneyes" or, more simply, "Goldeneyes" Appearance The Lightsaviour is plain of face, very short, with a mess of coal-black hair that hangs across his face. The most remarkable thing about his appearance are his golden eyes. He is slender, whereas his Companion, Sarinis, is more muscular and taller. He is muscular from his early years of farm work, and later his arduous training with weapons. He has a deep burn on his torso, stretching from just below his first rib down to his groin, from when the God Oraxen cast flame during their battle. He has a small viper carved into his back, in honour of his partner, Lya. Soulcasting Abilities Lothron Garland is the only person ever born to be able to cast all forms of the Soul. When he was taken to Naver, it was believed that he was a Materialist Soulcaster, however it was quickly discovered that he was what is called a Halfsoul. These are extremely rare, but not unheard of. He was able to cast both Binding and Materialist Soulcasting. However, during the Battle with Oraxen after he stole Lya and killed her over and over again, Lothron was discovered to be able to control all forms of Soulcasting. This lead to his victory, and the death of Oraxen. He is shunned by society for his abilities, and is hailed as God by some - reviled for being different. As well as this, he is able to live for hundreds of years, thousands even, if he is strong enough. However, that is more Soulcasters in general than Lothron on his own. He is the most powerful Soulcaster to have ever lived, having mastered all Soulcasting abilities and able to cast them all at the same time. Youth Up until he was sixteen, Lothron lived in Riverns with his mother, father, sister and two brothers. Shortly after his sixteenth birthday a Soulcaster arrived at Riverns. Lothron was taken away from his family, who were compensated for losing him with a single silver coin. He travelled to the island fortress of Naver - the Eastern Soulcasting Academy. There he began his training. While training, he met a boy named Sarinis Voldaryn, a pupil of the Academy since he was born. Voldaryn looked down on Lothron due to his lack of courage and innate talent. For many weeks the boy was tormented by Voldaryn, until he finally managed to defeat him in training. It was discovered that the two held a special connection - one that forms between two Soulcasters where one is innately stronger than the other. Lothron Garland was revealed to have a powerful Soul for Materialist Soulcasting, whereas Sarinis was a weaker Augmentalist. Sarinis became the Companion of Lothron. Finally, after a year of training, the two had passed their final combat test. Lothron was ready to face the world. As is the custom of every Soulcaster, they must venture on a Soul Progress around the continents, searching for ways to aid men and women high and low alike. Soul Progress Progress at the Pale Year of the Compeller The Year of the Compeller was a time of great sorrow for Lothron. He remembers little of it. It started near the Tylian Sea, a large lake within the Kingdom of Tylia - which is more water within its domain than land. Lothron was residing there with Sarinis and his new wife, Emelise. They received word from an Imperial Messenger that they were summoned to Morgond to aid the Emperor in an emergency crisis. When they reached Morgond, both Lothron and Sarinis sensed that some powerful Soulcasting was at work. They were brought before the Emperor, and someone else, a man neither recognised. The two realised swiftly whatw as going on, and tried to confront the man, but were disuaded when the Emperor trheatened to have them killed. A battle in the middle of the Imperial Residences could lead to teh death of hudnreds, if not thousands. It was clear that Emperor Prelaxion was under the influence of a Compeller. Lothron, arrogant in his own abilities, tried to confront the man again, and got very close to him in an attempt to kill him. However, the man swiftly entered his mind and tried to compel him to kill Sarinis and his wife. In the ensuring chaos, one half of him obeyed, while the other half refused. Hundreds of blades and spears materialsied within the room, and two halves of Lothron battled. One relentlessly trying to kill his closest friends, the other striving to obey the will and command of the man who was Compelling him. Sarinis tried to flee with his wife, but Lothron lost the battle; Emelise was killed by Lothron, torn apart as hundreds of blades skewered her from every direction. For just over a year, Lothron Garland was the Compeller's tool in bringing rebellious enemies to check. He does not remember the death, destruction and grief that he caused. But he bears the burdens of the actions he committed while his mind was not his own. First Exile In the aftermath of the Year of the Compeller, Lothron abandoned his duties and titles and honours. He left in the middle of the night, after being unable to gain Sarinis' forgiveness for murdering his wife in front of him. He could find no solace. he was tormented by dreams of events he knew had happened, but that he did not know. Dreams of massacring entire towns and villages. Nightmares of wading through a river of blood as men and women died around him. His mind broke. He could not deal with the guilt of what happened. War of Breaking In the year of 714 A.L, the Soulcasting Academy of Naver and the Soulcasting Academy of Sezaea went to war in what is known as the War of Breaking. It was a war that shattered three kingdoms, killed off the world's population by a quarter and ruined both Academies. Lothron was in the centre of it all. It was for his part in this war that he became known as the Lightsaviour Descent of the Gods In the Long Summer of 720 A.L the Gods descended on Lavesse. They set the world on fire. Already ruiend and desolate due to the War of the Breaking, no nation had the power to oppose them. The only hope was the Soulcasters, but they were weary of fighting for people who despised them, and for many it was easy to turn their back on the suffering of the Common people. Lothron, for a time, abstained from fighting the Gods, but when he heard that Sarinis Voldaryn was leading a small group of Soulcasters to defeat the Gods, he entered in an attempt to save him. When the two sides clashed outside the city of Greydan, the Soulcasters were forced on the defensive immediately. Sarinis had overestimated his own abilities, and many of his followers were killed in the opening scene of the battle. Lothron sent death and destruction against the divine beings. He killed many minor Gods, but found that even he was not powerful enough to take on the Gods by himself. In their retaliation, he was severely wounded, being pierced by the Blight Spear of the Goddess Grief. The wound festered and the poison spread immediately, yet Lothron battled on. But when his body was exhausted and it looked like he was to die, Sarinis saved his life. They retreated from the battlefield, and Lothron was healed of the immediate poison. However, it was revealed that he would die unless the wielder of the Blight Spear was killed. In times of great desperation, the people of the Imperium fled to Morgond, which was full to bursting with refugees, widows and orphaned children. It was decided by Lothron, Sarinis and their small band that the Gods would strike Morgond, due to the dense amount of people who fled there. Sarinis and Lothron made some small amends, though Sarinis stated that he could never forgive him after what happened to Emelise. However, he does state that he saw Lothron as a brother once. For the sake of what was, he will do all he can to save him. Lothron heads to Morgond with all of the Soulcasters that he can recruit. Sarinis departs, leaving Lothron and his group behind to follow up on reports that Goddess Grief was seen within the Pale. It is two days later that the Massacre of Morgond begins. Lothron was surprised when they the Gods did not send all their number against Morgond, they sent only one. Oraxen, God of Calamity. Battle with Oraxen Lya aided Lothron, feeding his Casting with her own magic, but it still was not enough. His blades and spears pierced Oraxen's armour and skin, only to melt away to nothing and leave no mark. Oraxen cast fire and lightning, and the entire regiment of Soulcasters, save Lothron, were destroyed. In the confusion, Oraxen appears beside Lothron and steals away Lya. Floating above the city, he taunted Lothron's lack of power and ability. He kills Lya in front of him, carving her body neatly in two. Then he brings her back to life. Lothron fought against the all-consuming power of Oraxen. But he could do nothing. Over and over again he threw everything he had at the God, and over and over he saw the futility. Every time he tried to kill Oraxen, the God merely laughed and butchered Lya in a new and different way. Lothron was exhausted as the battle drew to a close. His excessive use of his Soul had drained him and the poison had spread swiftly as he overtaxed his body. He tried a final, desperate attempt to kill Oraxen, and failed. Fire wrecked the lower city of Morgond. As he heard the screams and pleas of the dying, he realsied how arrogant he had been, how futile his fight was against the Gods themselves. He could not save Morgond, and he could not save Lya. He realsied that he was worthless. In his final few breaths, he is not at peace. He is filled with a deep anxiousness that everything he lived for will die, everyone he cared for will die. His worthiness, in his own eyes, was false. ''But then his Soul awoke. '' When recounted, witnesses say that Lothron stood up, propelled by a gust of air by his own creation. It is said that he cast fire, wind, water and earth all as one, that he met the God's destruction with his own. His turmoil, his pain, had given him mastery of all forms of casting. During his wroth, Lya was killed again by Oraxen, and this time she was not saved. The brutal battle between Lothron and Oraxen raged for some time before Oraxen's armour lay before him, empty as the God was defeated. Lothron won the battle, but at a grievous cost. Oraxen had burned him to the point that more than half his torso was a blackened, smoking ruin. Lya's body was in so many pieces that he couldn't put her back together, no matter how hard he tried. Half of Morgond was wrecked. Sarinis returned some time later, having killed Guineva, the Goddess of Grief. Emperor Victorion hailed Lothron as a hero of the Imperium, and named him a Honour-Prince of the Ilavene Imperium. For this, he earned the epithet of Prince with the Goldeneyes. However, Soulcasters and Common people alike shunned Lothron. Afraid of him. Stories spread and he was soon hailed as a God himself. Reviled even though he had saved them. He went into Exile once more, this time it was imposed on him by society itself. Second Exile Lothron and Sarinis rekindled their friendship, sharing in the grief over Lya's death. And for it all, Sarinis was the only one who did not treat Lothron differently. The two stepped away from the public, travelling far and away. Redemption Knights of Glass Assault on Evalon Death Relationships